Committee members took the decision after hearing evidence that moving the control room from Cleveland Police headquarters, in Ladgate Lane, Middlesbrough, to two “contact centres” on Tyneside could mean Newcastle-based operators would not have vital local knowledge of Teesside.

A “dossier of danger” revealing mistakes by Newcastle-based staff was put before yesterday’s meeting.

Members heard that on one occasion this year the Newcastle control centre had alerted ambulances to a chemical plant incident in Wilton - when the actual emergency was at the North Tees site 20 miles away.

The mistake was spotted by Teesside control staff who redirected the crews.

Bosses from the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) decided in May to close the Ladgate Lane facility.

But councillors and Stockton MPs Dari Taylor and Frank Cook, who said they had not been fully consulted, spoke out to block the move.

NEAS bosses said the Teesside control room was not performing as well as Tyneside. But Unison shop steward Sue Scott argued they were understaffed. Bosses also said ambulance crews would still have local knowledge.

Scrutiny committee chairman Eddie Dryden said: “They failed to consult properly, they failed to fulfil statutory obligations and they have failed to convince us that it is in the best interests of the people of Teesside.”

Mark Cotton, NEAS head of communications, said a formal consultation was held from October last year to January.

After yesterday’s meeting, he said: “Our board believed that the decision that it took in May was in the best interest of patients but that’s clearly a view we have not been able to get across. The Secretary of State will task a panel to look into this matter and listen to our case as well as the case made by everybody. We will clearly have to await the outcome of that process.”

Referring to the misdirection incident, he said: “Where details of particular incidents are brought to our attention we will look into them.”